“Sources suggest the most likely outcome now is for Perez to be handed a single-year extension to his deal, with strict performance clauses against Button that he must fulfil if he is going to have a chance of staying for 2015.”

“McLaren have considered placing Magnussen at Marussia next season in order to gain more experience. However, it is understood that senior management increasingly see him as capable of stepping up to partner Button.”

“Next year it?óÔé¼Ôäós most likely that I will stay with Marussia – but of course I have to get the deal done first. The team has good potential, but it?óÔé¼Ôäós crucial that we stay ahead of Caterham in the constructors?óÔé¼Ôäó championship as the price money we?óÔé¼Ôäód get can make up a big percentage of our yearly budget. If we have that we can put it towards a better car for next year. That would really help! It would mean that we have the chance to start 2014 really strong.”

“Three days of evaluation began on 16 September and Kumho says the purpose for the test was to ‘validate the technology for future business with F1 and to actually test the technology accumulated through motor sports since the 1990s for F1.'”

“As I?óÔé¼Ôäóve mentioned before we can?óÔé¼Ôäót do it at the expense of next season. But there?óÔé¼Ôäós little things with the set-up we?óÔé¼Ôäóre trying to do, there?óÔé¼Ôäós little things to better understand the tyres.”

“It got worse after the [Indian Grand Prix], with [Alan] Permane accusing Raikkonen of “not being a team player”. Raikkonen, who has scored a comfortable majority of Lotus’s points in the last two seasons, took extreme exception to that and when he flew back home to Switzerland from Delhi he seriously considered not coming to Abu Dhabi at all.”

“At the weekend we all heard the almost concrete rumour that neither New Jersey nor Mexico City would make it for next season. Korea does look as if it will survive the cull, appearing in April rather than in October and, after bidding farewell to the final Indian Grand Prix, apparently F1 could be back there in 2015 after signing a five-year deal with Bernie.”

Comment of the day

@MaroonJack wants to see more aero restrictions to free up development opportunities elsewhere:

I?óÔé¼Ôäód love to see two or three different spec-wings mandated by the FIA for different types of tracks, but only if that meant unlocking technical development in other areas. For example unlocking engine development permanently, instead of restricting it more and more in the following years.

In my opinion aero innovation in F1 has become a huge waste of money. There are many other, far more interesting areas to explore, but unfortunately the rules simply don?óÔé¼Ôäót allow it.@MaroonJack

While true, the fact is that even when the car is a dog one can still make a comparison between the drivers assuming they have equally doggish cars. Also, it can be about more than just the car. I would suggest that Perez hasn’t done that much less than JB points-wise, so if in fact he is about to be replaced it might be more about his attitude, or his lack of input or any of many things that might make someone else look more attractive. I’m not saying that is the case with Perez as I have no handle on what he is like on the test track or in the garage or back at the factory, but I’m just saying it likely doesn’t just come down to the car. If lousy cars is what it ever only boiled down to then a lot of drivers would have been retained throughout the years who were indeed let go. I think a car can remain lousy if a team lacks quality input from the driver.

“If lousy cars is what it ever only boiled down to then a lot of drivers would have been retained throughout the years who were indeed let go. I think a car can remain lousy if a team lacks quality input from the driver.”
Exactly. We have often seen McLaren start the year with an under performing car to end the season with the fastest car on the grid. This year, they have not improved relatively, as they use to when they have a bad year. Could be because they have opted to concentrate on the next level in 2014 and forward, but if so, they must have confidence that they will be able to fight at the front of the grid. To do that they need both a fast car and a fast driver line-up. Right now they have neither. So I think they should change the driver line-up for next year and if Kevin is the real deal, then lets see what he can do in the McLaren come march 2014. It would be more of a pity to let Kevin start his F1 career as a back marker than to pass on Perez, who was very promissing until he signed with McLaren.

So the BBC article argues that Kimi, who has brought the team financial and commercial success by dragging the team to it’s position in last years champoinship and is doing the same this year pretty much on his own especially during the first half of the season, does not deserve to get paid now because he was paid so well for doing the exactly same job in his career before in other teams. What ?

It’s what he does. That is his trade. He has a unique set of skill that he sells. Just like anyone who is hired to do a job.

On Ricciardo’s tweet: He is already turning out to be Mark Webber nr.2! He should be a good qualifier, but if he tends to screw up his start every single time, like he is doing this year, he will turn out to be a the disappointment of 2014!

I think Perez should get another year, sure he hasn’t amazed people as much as people expected but at the end of the day the Mclaren has been the worst Mclaren in some time, Perez has beaten Button in qualifying and races on several occasions, so if he can beat a world champion in equal machinery in his first year at the team at the age of 23 I personally would give him another year. They gave Kovalainen another year and the gap between Button and Perez is much smaller than the gap between Kovalainen and Hamilton. The only suitable driver who could replace Perez would be Hulkenberg, but Mclaren don’t want him so I can only see Perez staying another year.

The argument about Kovalainen is not exactly in Perez’ favor, as giving Kova another year proved to be a mistake. When Hamilton got the seat alongside Alonso, we also thought it was to early, but he proved us wrong. Kevin just maybe could do the same.

Your comparison with Hamilton can’t really be applied today due to no in season testing or teams being allowed two cars at a winter test. Hamilton had about 22 days testing before his first race, Magnussen wont have that luxury, young drivers today have barely any track time to improve their driving, which is why he could benefit from having a year in a team lower down the field to learn and improve as a driver, then move to Mclaren in 2015.

Alonso arguably can set up better the car than Button which benefit Hamilton, but also a dominant car helps a lot, is not like Perez is missing poles or podiums that Button can, is the car to fix not the drivers at maclaren

Notice the word ‘occasions’ in there, if Perez has outqualified Button in a race then he has beaten him at qualifying in that particular race, notice how it doesn’t say ‘Perez has outqualified Button this season’.

Lewis usually had 3/10ths or so on Button in practice and qualy, Jenson usually has 2-4/10ths on Perez… Checco has done a few great overtakes (Monaco) and some desperate race ending bonehead moves (also Monaco). He lacks raw pace to Button and also race craft. Insufficient performance to justify the loss of WCC points a better candidate would garner (Hulk). Nuff said.

yeah, Button has out qualified him most of the season, but with the new gen car next year, if McLaren use what they have wisely, they could get back to where they were in 2012, seriously fighting for the champoinship and winning races, no matter what driver/s they decide to use.

im think he deserves another year with the new car, and i think he is gonna be there the next year maybe because Mclaren want to keep him, or maybe because of money, remember that even if Slim has nothing to do with Mclaren, Santander bank get more money from Mexico than from a lot of other contries, and here in Mexico they just start to take advantage of that, with adds a that stuff. So i dont know witch one would be the reason but i think he will stay. Sorry for my english. see you.

I find it very disappointing from Lotus the way they are accusing Kimi of not being a team player. Kimi has scored the better part of 70 more points than Romain this year, on top of last year more than doubling Romain’s points haul. It now comes to light that he has been driving at ten-tenths all year without being paid a cent and because he drives wheel-to-wheel with Romain in India he isn’t a team player? I am a fan of Lotus, and will continue to be, but please do the right thing by a driver that spearheaded putting the team back at the right end of the finishing order.

Perez both should and shouldn’t go back to McLaren, this being that the strong performance in India, and I think in Abu Dhabi really opened up his chanes to get the seat, but the 17 or so races before have been slighty under par. I dunno, I just think that he should work with the team to produce a competitive car, even Massa has been performing better than before lately, that has just been because he hasn’t got a seat for 2014 and is desperately looking for one, but all other stories aside, I think with the new gen car, he could really make an impact on the Champoinship, if Perez uses what he’s got at his disposal wisely.

I think Mclaren bosses rather sacrifice Perez and blame him rather than accept been incompetent to produce a winning car or to fix it in a whole season with a huge budget.
Button is not capable of running the team forward poor leadership, why keep him ? At least is an available WDC which looks good I guess, but Mclaren should pair two young hungry drivers, can’t have a worst season.
Slim won’t sponsor a loosing team.

McLaren will come back some in 2014, it’s a new generation car and they will be even better in 2015 then they have Honda engines, look at what happened the last time Honda powered McLaren, Aryton won 3 WCC with the same Honda engine before he made that move to Williams. I think it has just been one of those years and no one should count them out